Faith and football. You may not think the two have much in common, but when Camden native Josh Steed went looking for answers regarding Christianity, he found them on the field.
   
It's the fourth quarter, fourth and goal and the clocking is ticking. Are you ready?

It's a question Camden native Josh Steed tackled for years.

"My struggles in life started when I was 7 years old. My parents went through a divorce," says Josh Steed.

"My mom died of cancer when I was 9 years old. And a few years later, my sister Tammy gets in a car wreck and later dies. My faith was really shaken at that point in life.”

Bitter and angry, Josh took his frustrations out on the field. He played football for Harmony Grove for five years. It was an escape from reality, but only a temporary solution.

"It's kind of like drugs and alcohol,” says Steed. “When you sober up the next day, the problems are still there. When I took the uniform off, I still had issues in my heart."

At 23, he broke through when a televangelist spoke to his heart. Josh got on his knees, accepted Christ, and never looked back. He joined the seminary and just graduated with his PhD from North Tennessee Bible Institute.

"I started thinking of all of the parallels that run between scripture and life and football,” says Steed.
   
His dissertation turned into a book, Faith and Football. Steed shares his own testimony and that of other well known players and coaches including NFL players Corey Williams, Matt Jones, and Joe Brown, and Georgia bulldog head coach Mark Richt.

"He said, it's important to realize what we do is not who we are. If you let your life get too wrapped up in sports or your career, and then something happens where you can't play anymore, you can't perform anymore, your world will crumble,” says Steed. “I just put what has changed my life and the life of others into words that people who enjoy sports and particularly football can relate to and understand."

Off the field, Steed is marketing Faith and Football between haircuts. He owns a barber shop in Camden and is busy raising four kids. Meanwhile, he continues his passion to share his faith and tries to live by what he preaches.

And when it comes to fourth and goal, Josh says he's ready.

"I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, after preaching to others, I fear that I myself might be disqualified."

Click here for more information on Faith and Football, including how to get a copy.